Noise while shooting rule

If I notice a conversation in the peanut gallery behind me while shooting it breaks my concentration. Especially, if I just hear bits and pieces of said conversation and start trying to piece it together while waiting on my turn to shoot. You would think after all the years trapshooting has been going on, this would have been addressed with a rule of some sort.......

WL

 

Having almost complete hearing loss does have a few advantages, but very few! Be glad you can hear them talking and take the best care of your hearing that you can. I would give anything to hear them!

 

Hit the Ignore button, I do it all the time ... I practice at home with my wife ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Turn your electronic ear muffs around so the mikes face foward, then you won't hear them!

 

WL,
Ditto what WPT said. I've found that the more I try to block out the distractions the more I lose my focus. If the peanut gallery gets a little loud or there's some critters playing out in the field, I hear them and see them but just don't pay them any mind. Of course it may be a little easier for me than you. My competitive days are long behind me. Now I merely hope to find the proverbial acorn maybe once or twice a year.

 

When I was shooting competively (about 15+ years ago), I never noticed people talking behind me. My attention was focused on the area in front of the trap house. The only thing that could distract me was my own stupidity (lack of concentration). Today I am totally deaf, from disease not shooting. Someone could set off a bomb and unless it shook the ground severely I would never notice.

 

At my gun club (I was one of the 5 founders) and because 3 of the others were 27 yarders, we put in the sidewalk way,way behind the 27 yard line. Then we placed the benches and shaded benches even farther back.

I think that if you are a good shooter, and you concentrate, there's nothing worse than a distraction particularly if you shoot fast. You are looking for that target to appear, and distractions are or can be problematic.

I'm with you Lewis.

Whiz

 

The only nice thing about having people talking is if you miss you have an excuse, like we need another one ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

A few years back I was (un)fortunate enough to be on a 16 yd squad with and older gentlemen, who after dropping a few targets began to mumble to himself after every shot. Now I've been known to call myself a name or two after a missed target but I don't recall ever carrying on a running conversation with myself while on the line. I'm certain he had no idea he was doing it and since I was down a few myself I just let it go. He was a great old guy and we a good time shooting together but that was one tough 100 to get through.

 

Back in the late 70's at my state shoot, I was the squad leader with some great guys throughout the shoot. I was shooting pretty well (was HOA Open, missed HOA State by 2 targets). We were shooting the state handicap event. We were all 27 yarders. I had saved the squad for "27 only". When we were up to shoot, no 5th man. We waited and waited, until one of the state delegates told us to get to the line and start shooting, and we did.

I was on post 3, straight (only 10-12 targets), when I was starting to call for the target, the 5th guy showed up and walked right up to me IN THE ACT OF SHOOTING on post 3 27 yard line and started to chew on me for not waiting. I stopped, told him we DID in fact wait. I told him to catch us up at the next trap where he could finish with us and then he could make up the first 25 at the practice trap. Anyway, I turned around, called for a look-at target, mounted my gun and again was just starting to call for the target. The idiot (from Iowa), drove his finger in my back and was really pissed that we didn't wait for him. I did miss that target too.

With the state delegate standing behind us, not doing anything to get this guy under control, I opened by big mouth and said that if he touched/bothered me again I was going to blow him apart at the knees. That did it, the state delegate came out and chewed my ass for saying that to this goof-ball. I never did have much respect for the delegate anyway, a fat, lazy guy who knew everything - I called him the "Smartest guy in the world!". He did nothing about what was happening, and the 5th guy stormed off.

I missed a second target and was fuming. I don't even remember if the guy shot with us. I think he re-squaded.

Ya, I shot a 97 from the 27, and lost HOA for the state shoot by two targets, to only grab the HOA Open trophy. I didn't even win the event, if I remember correctly, but think I garnered long-yardage.

To this day, I often think about this guy. Obviously, he'd been around the block to get to the 27. But to do what he did, and do it TWICE still grabs me. I never did even bother to put his name in my black book.

Whiz

 

Gotta give you credit Whiz. You had I lot more patience with that guy than I would have. I can't believe the delegate would allow that. Hope you weren't shooting a release.

 

I'm not so sure I had much for patience. I did say something I should not have. I think I was just too shocked to react initially. Never had that sort of thing happen to me before.

I was more shocked that the dufus state delegate stood there watching what was happening and NOT doing anything. I was a past delegate in past years, and I would have instantly gone out there, removed the guy and talked to him AWAY from and protecting those shooting.

The delegate was, maybe a 22-23 yarder, who should have NEVER been in that position in the first place. He was from the north eastern part of the state from a small town. I guess he could BS with the best of them and that got him elected. I was like 26 or 28 at the time.